Small industrial or business development associated with a village or other rural settlement – Policy IBD 13

Justification and Amplification

4.22 The Department is committed to facilitating the opportunities for economic development and diversification in the countryside while maintaining and, where possible, enhancing the quality of the rural environment for local people and visitors. A pleasant and attractive countryside is central to its economic prosperity and healthy economic activity in rural areas facilitates investment to sustain and enhance the countryside’s appeal.

4.23 The Department’s general approach is that development in the countryside should benefit economic activity while protecting or enhancing the environment. The Department will permit appropriate opportunities for farm diversification, the re-use of redundant rural buildings and appropriate redevelopment and expansion proposals for industrial and business purposes. However, there is also a need to restrict development in the interests of rural amenity and, in general, new buildings for such uses in the open countryside outside settlements will be strictly controlled. An exception will, however, operate for major industrial proposals in certain restricted circumstances.

4.24 Within small rural settlements, the Department will not normally zone land for industrial or business development in the interests of flexibility. Favourable consideration will be given to applications for small-scale industrial and business uses on unzoned land included within the settlement limit, provided the proposal is of a scale, nature and design appropriate to the character of the settlement involved and it meets the normal planning criteria for this type of development. Exceptionally, where no feasible sites exist within the limits, a small-scale proposal may be permitted on the edge of a rural settlement.

4.25 Development proposals relating to storage and distribution use will, in general, be more tightly controlled in the countryside under the above range of policies than proposals for industrial or other business use. It is considered that such proposals are usually more difficult to absorb into the countryside without detrimental impact on rural amenity and their capacity for generating employment is generally less than these other uses.

4.26 All proposals for such development in rural areas will need to meet the general criteria for industrial. distribution and business development contained in Policy IBD 1.